John Payton has been appointed director-counsel and president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Most recently, he was a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr. Payton earned a bachelor’s from Pomona College and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
Dr. Tracey D. Ford has been named director of the Center for Academic Excellence at North Carolina A&T State University. Most recently, she was assistant director of the African American Cultural Center at the University of Georgia. She earned a bachelor’s at Norfolk State University, a master’s at Howard University and a doctorate at UGA.
Dr. W. Victor Maconachy has been appointed vice president and chief academic officer of Capitol College (Md.). Previously, he served as deputy senior computer science authority for the National Security Agency. Maconachy received his bachelor’s and master’s from Frostburg State University and his doctorate from the University of Maryland, College Park.
